9. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

The Bride vs. the Crazy 88s

The Setup: The Bride (Uma Thurman) is looking for O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) to avenge her husband-to-be's murder and the death of her unborn child. At the House of Blue Leaves, The Bride must get past the fearsome Crazy 88s if she hopes to cross paths with O-Ren.

The Battle: In a tight yellow jumpsuit, Uma Thurman shows a flair for acrobatics and ass-kicking in this big-time bloody battle scene. No lives or limbs are spared as The Bride is outnumbered on every floor of Blue Leaves, but manages to dispense with her foes using precision sword moves and swift athletics (some courtesy of stunt double Zoe Bell). Quentin Tarantino's original cut of the film was too much for the MPAA, and they forced him to change part of this battle scene to black-and-white to cut down on the sheer amount of blood. This change actually works in the film's favor, and proves to be the highlight of an already impressive fight sequence — well, that and The Bride's one-on-one with Gogo Yubari, O-Ren's demented schoolgirl/bodyguard.